Thirty Seconds
by catfoxy
Summary: 30 seconds can be a long time. It always depends on what you do with them. And on whether or not you are watching these particular 30 seconds tick down on the timer of a medium-sized metal box that contains a bomb.


_Author's Note: _

_If you saw the movie Ghost Protocol you know that when Ethan was down in the archive room underneath the Kreml, he heard through his earpiece that a bomb was about to go off….but he didn't know where that bomb was or how much time was left. So his only option was to run._

_I tried to turn the concept around. _

_Different place. Different setting. But this time Ethan knows how much times he has left. He even knows where the bomb is. That leaves the question: what can he do about it?_

_And this time, there are actually TWO twists at the end. So don't say I didn't warn you. ;)_

_-o-_

_Summary: _

_30 seconds can be a long time. It always depends on what you do with them. And on whether or not you are watching these particular 30 seconds tick down on the timer of a medium-sized metal box that contains a bomb. _

**30 seconds**

It was supposed to be a simple job.

Get in, get the document, replace it with a fake one, get out.

But nobody had told them there would be a bomb waiting for them.

It was Ethan who found it. Call it luck. Call it an accident. Call it what you will.

But when, at 3 am, and wearing an elegant black working suit - the appropriate colour for a burglary - he abseiled into the small side corridor inside the locked-down National Museum, he happened to notice a reflection in one showcase that wasn't even on his list - but that caught his attention.

As he backtraced the reflection in the glass before him to its source right behind him, he saw that it was a timer attached to a metal box standing inconspiciously in the corner of the room. And its glowing red numbers were counting down.

He had no idea who had put that thing there. Or, for that matter, _why_, aside from the obvious consequences. He also didn't know how big a bomb the timer might be wired to. However, all these questions were side issues now. What mattered now was the feeling in his gut that was telling him this bomb was large enough to take out at least this room, and probably even the entire wing. And him with it.

_Only_ him, if he was lucky.

He knew that Brandt, according to the plan, would to be safely outside at the Guardhouse with Benji right about now, getting access to the computers that secured the showcase locks.

Jane, however, had entered the building at the same time as Ethan, only from the opposite side, and she should be convening with him right about…

"Is Benji ready yet?"

A slightly out of breath Jane stepped into the corridor about three doors down the hall, smothly hurrying over and obviously expecting Ethan to have already localized the showcase with the document.

It took her a second to see that he hadn't. And another second to follow his gaze to what he had found instead.

Realization hit her in the same second that Ethan gave the order to Brandt and Benji through his head-mike:

"Abort. Take your gear and leave. Now."

Ethan's voice actually sounded relatively calm. Almost too calm considering that he was standing right before a metal box that was telling him it would go 'boom' in the next 30 seconds.

And he could see the seconds counting down.

30.

He hears Brandt asking him what was wrong.

29.

Once more, and this time with a tad more tension in his voice, Ethan tells Brandt to grab Benji and 'GO!'

28.

This time Ethan gets an acknowledgement from both Benji and Brandt.

He is pretty sure they don't understand what is going on, but that is fine with him, as long as they did as they were told.

27.

He looks at Jane, and he can see that she has come to the same conclusion as he has.

26.

Twenty-six seconds are nowhere enough time to safely disarm a bomb of this size.

25.

But Jane can see in Ethan's eyes that he is gonna try it anyway. Not just because out of all of them, he knows the most about bombs, but because he came here to accomplish a mission – he had to at least try and save the document. It was his duty as team leader.

24.

Ethan steadfastly returns the look Jane is giving him, and he silently asks her to please go. There is no reason for both of them to die here. There is still a chance that she might get far enough away to survive this.

23.

The expression on Jane's face speaks of bewilderment first – probably at his intent to actually attempt to disarm the bomb - and then refusal, as she realizes that he wants her to save herself while he stays behind. But leaving Ethan behind is not an option for Jane.

22.

At any other time, Ethan would have asked her to reconsider. If only he had the time. But since he doesn't - he merely sighs. He knows that his own life is no longer the only one on the line here. If he screwed this up they were both dead…

21.

He carefully opens the silver metal box, slowly lifting the top off…

20.

..and he curses at the amount of cables that become visible.

19.

He tells Jane again to leave.

18.

He gets only one reply: "If this doesn't work, we're both dead anyway."

17.

Ethan can't help but agree. So he concentrates once more on the tangle of wires before him.

16.

He tensely follows the yellow wire with his left index finger, fumbling around the various bends and connectors as quickly as he could, tracing its path within the box.

15.

He is hoping it might lead him to the detonator.

14.

He closes his eyes for the fraction of a second, cursing softly as he realizes that the yellow wire leads into a dead-end.

13.

He tries the same thing with the blue wire.

12.

With the same result, only much faster than the first time.

11.

That leaves green, red and black. He quickly divides the tangle a bit to get better access to the wires.

10.

He goes for green. Tracing it. Cutting his finger on a sharp edge inside the box. Not even feeling it.

9.

A glance at the timer. His fingers moving even faster now, he follows the green wire further…

8.

…until it leads him to a tiny metallic rectangle just barely visible at the bottom of the box. It could be the detonator cap. Or a trap.

7.

Keeping his index and middle finger around the end of the yellow wire, just before the potential detonator cap, he quickly raises his gaze again from the yellow wire to check what else he could see inside the box.

6.

His eyes dart to the red and then to the black wire, trying to follow their paths with his eyes only, as quickly as can, to hopefully eliminate these other two wires – so he would know for sure if the one wire he has in his left hand is actually the correct one.

5.

Following the black wire with his eyes to the bottom of the box, he suddenly spots three more wires running alongside the last few inches of the black one.

4.

These three new wires are all white. He knows he doesn't have the time to check them as well.

3.

He is fully aware that he can either trust his instinct now – or simply do nothing. Both could lead to imminent death. He looks at Jane, who does not shy away from his gaze as she tells him 'It's your call.'

2.

He tightens his index finger around the yellow cable, trying to get a good enough grip on the end of it, so it would consequently dislodge the tiny metallic cap out of what he assumed was the part of the box that held the explosives.

1.

He closes his eyes as he pulls…

0.

…and he is suddenly attacked by a cacophony of sound so loud that it actually hurts on his skin. In an instinctive reaction, he jerks back, but it doesn't stop the explosion of light that instantly engulfs the entire room as he opens his eyes…

…and sees that his alarm clock is viciously blaring at him, the sun already up and shining right into his now open eyes – effectively blinding him.

With a shaky breath, he finds himself in his own bedroom.

Whoa. That must have been one hell of a nightmare.

He couldn't remember what he had dreamt, but going by his heart rate, it must have been a doozey.

The date on his alarm clock said today was Thursday.

Wait a second.

Thursday.

He remembered something about Thursday.

The Secretary had given them a mission for the night from Thursday to Friday.

Weren't they scheduled to snatch some document from a museum or something?

Right. He remembered that. In fact, he remembered he had set a team meeting for later today to prepare for that mission. He was actually looking forward to it.

It would be a simple mission for once.

There was just one thing he didn't understand:

Why did he suddenly have such a bad feeling about that mission?

THE END


End file.
